MONROVIA: One of the newest lawmakers in the second most populous Liberian province of Nimba is becoming unmatched in terms of his social service projects to the county and its people. Pundits familiar with politics of Nimba County say Musa Hassan Bility got catapulted to this coveted job on solid records bordering selflessness, charity and benevolence, characteristics most Liberian electorate hardly let down at the ballot box. Even elected, he has not joined that set of Liberian politicians who often divorce themselves from their constituents on ground they had purchased their job with their feigned benevolence during elections. Once again, the Nimba County District #7 Representative has completed and turned over another piece of relieving social infrastructure monument, and he has been awash with copious commendations from both leaders and ordinary citizens of the county. The Analyst reports.
It was a celebration galore on Monday, May 20, 2024 in Saclepea City, District #7, Nimba County when Representative Musa Hassan Bility fulfilled his major campaign promise to the people of the District, dedicating the huge Dahn Gborwin bridge over the Yarr river.
The project, which many consider to be a great relief for tens of thousands of rural Nimbians, connects several communities and allows the rural people to travel freely and safely and increase social cohesion and trade in the region of the county.
Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung and other prominent citizens from the county have been heaping praises on Representative Bility for bringing such a great relief to the people, who for decades have undergone challenges, commuting under difficult conditions from one community to another thereby distorting their socio-economic lives.
It was stated by the community dwellers that several persons have perished in the past while trying to cross the river from either end, thereby plunging the people in despair and agony.
While delivering his keynote address at the dedication of the project, Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung praised Bility for being thoughtful enough to conceive and execute the project single-handedly which, according to him, is unprecedented not only in the county but in the country.
He said Bility has raised the bar in terms of showing the dividend of his stewardship that speaks volumes of how passionate he has been to work for his people who freely gave him their mandate to lead them during the 2023 general elections.
He told the audience, especially the huge number of lawmakers who were present and other politicians, that one reason why some people win elections in Liberia is because they keep their campaign promises and never run from their people while serving.
“Our people in Nimba, when they give you an assignment and you do it diligently, they will promote you and I am a living witness to it,” VP Koung said. “When I was a representative, they sent me back to be representative again. Three years in my second term, they said, look, come be our senator and within three years again, they said come to be Vice President.”
He said the project marks a significant chapter in the history of the county because the project was undertaken and completed after several attempts over the years, and the people were yearning for solution.
“Thank God the opportunity came right through Representative Bility, a prominent citizen of the District and County who had such thoughts on how he could be of assistance to his community,” Koung said further.
The Vice President said a lot can be learned from the project and it was even important that Bility invited his colleagues and other politicians to see for themselves and perhaps motivated to replicate similar projects in their constituencies.
He continued: “I can assure you, Musa, what you have done here, most of us envy you; envy you not in a negative way, but in a positive way that tomorrow you will be rewarded and it was good that you invited us so that some of us in government will not just come and tell you ‘thank you’ but how we too can think and do similar thing for our people.”
He urged Liberians everywhere to shun peddlers of tribal politics but to embrace the platform for greater unity so that “we can work for our country and people because this is how we will develop the country”.
Senator Prince Y. Johnson, who is the Chairman of the Legislative Caucus, who spoke to newsmen shortly before the bridge was dedicated, also poured praises on Bility, referring to him as a “gift to Nimba” for undertaking the project that many had thought was one of those political gimmicks by politicians for votes during elections.
He called the initiative “a wonderful project” which, according to him, is a meaningful development, first of its kind for any single lawmaker to undertake.
“We are happy because when Musa started to campaign to become representative, people said all kinds of things. What he has done today, I am not surprised. This has not been done by any representative before, not even senators. So, we want to thank Musa. He is indeed a gift to Nimba.”
When the benefactor took the stand, he said with all eyes fixed on: “Today is not the time for me to say anything. I just want to say ‘thank you’. I want to say a special ‘thank you’ to the Speaker of the 55th National Legislature. Honorable Speaker, you arrived in the country yesterday, and you have led a delegation of over 30 members of the House of Representatives here today. I want to thank my colleagues for what you have done for me. I am not going to pay you.”
The he said further: “Honorable Vice President, today is Monday, by now you should be at the cabinet retreat but you chose to be here. I want to tell you thank you. My own friend and brother, Senator Nathaniel F McGill, thank you for coming my brother, I appreciate you.
“I want to thank the sons and daughters of Nimba, the sons and daughters of district #7 and district #8, ‘thank you’. My special thank you to the people who said that this was not possible, and I want to thank you very much because you are the one that inspired me more to do this. The more I heard that this was not possible, the more I wanted to do this. I remain thankful to the Almighty God for strengthening me and my family”.
Bility thanked his wife for allowing him to use part of the money meant for their children’s future to be expended on the project that will benefit the people.
The representative representing District # 8, Nimba County, Saye S. Mianah whose district is also benefiting from the project, recognized all the important guests at the program and said his people would not forget about Bility so easily “as he has restored our hope and future with this project which has never happened anywhere in Nimba before”.
Earlier in the day, throngs of citizens, and prominent local leaders of Nimba, such as the Superintendent Madam Kou Meapeh Gono, along with the entire Nimba County Legislative Caucus and guests thronged Saclepea City on the day of the dedication, turning the serene town into a festive ground.
According to the organizers of the program, the bridge is named in honor of a prominent paramount chief of the area, the late Dahn Gborwin, who made several efforts to mobilize his people during his tenure to undertake the project.
Several cultural troupes, traditional singers and other entertainers kept the venue of the program alive while most of the people had nostalgic memories of the difficult days when the bridge was not constructed.
Citizens interviewed by our reporter said the construction of the bridge project removed a major stumbling block to decades of human and vehicular movement in the area, something that disrupted economic activities.
“I am in tears of joy today seeing this bridge connecting our communities,” one said. “I am just looking back to remember the number of people who died in his river who were trying to cross from one end to the other.”
Another one said: “We will forever remain grateful to Honorable Musa Hassan Bility for this great relief and pray that God continue to bless him with whatever he desires.”
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